Dubai-based retail giant Majid Al Futtaim has announced that it has reinforced its move into home furniture and interior style market through its new franchise partnership with Maisons Du Monde, Arabian Business reports.

The agreement started with the launch of the first Maisons du Monde store in Dubai’s City Centre Mirdif.

Founded in France in 1996, Maisons du Monde has a global network of 289 stores, an e-commerce platform operating in 11 countries and several catalogues.

It is one of the only brands in the world to have its own dedicated design hub – located in a French Chateau – where a 90-strong team are responsible for creating the collection.

“This is an important step for Majid Al Futtaim Fashion to broaden the brand portfolio and diversify the offering. We have identified a growing trend linking catwalk fashion and home design with prints and colours from the runway accessorising customers’ homes, a strength we found within the Maisons Du Monde brand and products and we are therefore very excited about launching it in the Middle East,” said Shireen El Khatib, CEO at Majid Al Futtaim – Fashion.

Each year, the brand releases one furniture and two seasonal decoration collections, split across carefully selected trends inspired by the way we live today.

Maisons du Monde reported customer sales of €882 million for the year end December 31, 2016.